Young woman finds mental health support at Sharp

Sometimes, our minds can play tricks on us. But sometimes, those thoughts are more than mere “glitches.” Instead, they are the sign of a mental health disorder.

For one local woman, her mind led her to believe she was a princess from a royal, immortal bloodline in hiding. Spies followed her around every corner. And the people close to her kept secrets about her true aristocratic ancestry.

While this may sound like a plot to a thriller, for Sophia, 22, it was reality. The beliefs were among many elaborate delusions that had begun to control her.

Diagnoses lead to understanding

Though she was the only child of parents who divorced when she was age 13, Sophia enjoyed growing up in a large, loving extended family. As a creative girl, her school notes were filled with doodles. She disliked subjects such as math and history; however, she excelled in art classes and flourished in hands-on learning activities.

“From elementary school to college, I had a hard time staying focused and sitting down,” Sophia recalls. “I would get distracted. Later, during my second year of college, I found out I had ADHD.”

As she got older, Sophia began having bouts of depression, which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. To cope, she started drinking alcohol and experimenting with marijuana. She remembers how the drugs triggered psychotic symptoms that she had never experienced before.

Sophia says that she had mood swings and chaotic thinking patterns. Her friends would sometimes comment that she was always “daydreaming.” Doctors diagnosed her with bipolar disorder.

Sophia was being treated with stimulants to manage her ADHD. However, the medications triggered manic episodes due to her bipolar disorder.

“Marijuana, drinking, mixing medications — all of these things sort of created a perfect storm for me,” says Sophia. “It felt so good, but I also felt so crazy.”

The breaking point

Because of the combination of drugs Sophia was taking to manage her conditions, psychotic episodes, like delusions, became a part of her everyday life. The delusions she had were threatening and put her “on edge.” She remembers a particular delusion that ended up landing her in the hospital.

“I was at the movies with my mom, and she noticed that I was really, really scared,” says Sophia. “I was crying and shaking because I thought people were going to assassinate me at the movie theatre.”

She pleaded with her mom to go home. “I couldn’t handle it; I thought spies were going to get me,” Sophia recalls. “That kind of fear is so traumatizing.”

Sophia’s mom, dad and cousin brought her to Sharp Grossmont Hospital’s Emergency Room. She was later admitted to the hospital’s behavioral health inpatient unit.

Finding support and solutions

After being stabilized, Sophia was discharged and encouraged to continue outpatient therapy to help manage her paranoid thoughts. So, she began attending the intensive outpatient program (IOP) at Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Behavioral Health.

The structured, nonresidential program addresses mental health and substance use disorders through group therapy-based psychotherapy and medication management. Patients typically attend a program 2 to 3 days a week, 3 hours a day.

“They don’t call it intense for no reason,” says Sophia. “Just thinking about you and your thinking patterns is really daunting. I didn’t have anything to lose, and I wasn’t working, so I did it.”

The first month in the program proved to be challenging because Sophia was still having psychotic symptoms. But not long after, she stopped believing the delusions.

Sophia learned about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and how it could be used to help reframe damaging thoughts. She practiced mindfulness and other anxiety-relieving activities. But what she really found refuge in was the presence of others in the program.

“In group therapy, we talk about what’s going on in our lives and what worries us,” says Sophia. “It feels nice to get a group perspective of my thoughts because it helps you to get out of your own head.”

Designing a better life

Sophia is looking forward to working again. She is currently taking courses to become a nail technician. In the future, Sophia would like to find additional work in graphic design, as she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University.

“I like nail school because the act of painting nails and creating designs on them is eclectic and decorative,” she says. “I will take the state board exam and then, hopefully, will be able to work at a friend’s nail salon part-time while pursuing graphic design work, too.”

For now, Sophia is preparing to say goodbye to those in the program who have helped her regain her sense of self.

“I learned a lot,” Sophia says. “I plan to keep the tool handouts from the program because they provide really good insight. And I’m really going to miss the group setting — just being there and seeing familiar faces. The act of sharing what you are going through with others and working together through our problems — well, it’s a nice support system to have.”

Learn more about mental health services at Sharp HealthCare. To get more information about Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Behavioral Health’s intensive outpatient programs, please call 619-740-5811, send an email or submit a request form.